Family Business Matters       10/16 11:58

   Family Business Succession Planning Is About More Than Assets

   Family business succession is about more than transferring assets. A 
meaningful legacy also reflects your values, strengths, sense of purpose and 
the example you leave for future generations.

Lance Woodbury
DTN Farm Business Adviser

   I love it when a book helps my thought process around family business 
succession. Jim Collins' latest work, "What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, 
Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative," is just such a book. Collins, 25 years 
after writing the bestseller "Good to Great," pairs famous people from 
different segments of society to answer the question, "What makes a meaningful 
life?"

   That question is not much different from what many family business owners 
ask, namely, "What makes a meaningful legacy?"

   Working on what you leave to your family often focuses on land, equipment or 
money. But legacy also includes the examples you set, the lessons you teach and 
the behaviors you inspire. Prior generations might have given you land, but 
they also ignited your passion for agriculture. They might have given you 
money, but they also taught you how to manage resources. The way an elder once 
encouraged you makes you consider how to be an effective mentor to others.

   A major point of Collins' book is that the vocational roles you choose, the 
way you handle success, how you navigate difficult circumstances and the 
responsibilities you choose beyond yourself are the primary ingredients that 
give your life meaning. They are also what leave a lasting impression on others 
and what people will remember about you -- which, I believe, is your true 
legacy. Here are some specific ideas to consider when contemplating this 
broader notion of legacy.

   -- Determine your encodings. This is the unique constellation of interests 
and talents that help you excel in your chosen role. What are you best at? When 
are you most effective, fulfilled or happy in your work? In what environments 
do you excel? What do others say are your strengths? Pay attention, ask for 
feedback and seek opportunities that play to your unique encodings.

   -- Consider how you navigate cliffs and fog. These are the retirements and 
career changes, life-altering accidents, disorienting health challenges and 
failures in life we all experience at one time or another. Navigate these by 
focusing on the immediate next steps you need to take and looking for new ways 
to use your encodings. Don't make major decisions immediately after a cliff or 
while wandering in the fog. In some cases, you will realize new talents and 
strengths you didn't know you had. For example, Collins points out how Michael 
J. Fox has navigated life with his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and how 
Charles Colson created a meaningful life after the Watergate scandal.

   -- Remember your purpose. Financial wealth is not the goal of your work but 
a result of pursuing what you love to do. Net worth, business revenue, acreage 
or herd size are metrics of success only to the extent that they fuel your 
passion and foster the use of your encodings. If financial or size goals become 
ends unto themselves, you will find yourself disappointed and perpetually 
unfulfilled.

   -- Choose a responsibility beyond yourself. Collins observed that people who 
stayed motivated late in life chose responsibilities that "faced outward" 
toward "something or someone beyond their own individual success, comfort, 
recognition, enjoyment or achievement." It might be helping a charity or 
church, caring for an individual or serving a group, but it is something that 
makes a difference for someone else. By choosing such a responsibility, it 
creates meaning for you and, by extension, makes a difference to those around 
you and to those who come after you.

   Succession planning is about passing things to others. Give your family 
members and future generations a picture of a meaningful life well-lived, and 
you will have accomplished your plan.

   Lance Woodbury can be reached at lance@lancewoodbury.com




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